The greatest innovation in medical documentation has been inescapable -- electronic patient records. Despite this, electronic systems get dubious reviews from physicians. Clinicians say they spend more time on records and less time with patients. Still, while electronic records may have raised the frustration factor for physicians, studies suggest that using them increases productivity in the most basic way possible, in relative value units -- work units -- accomplished per day.

The Promise of EHRs

Networked, multiple-location patient record systems are called electronic health records. EHRs are a star of hope for those who see economies of scale and endless streams of raw data to parse in search of better public health for fewer dollars. For physician practices, though, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid offer serious incentives. The Medicare incentives for "meaningful use" of EHRs can total as much as $44,000 for physicians who jumped on the bandwagon in 2012. The Medicaid incentive is higher -- up to $63,750 over six years. The incentives pay for use of EHRs, not for acquisition.

Improvement in Numbers

EHRs also seem to help doctors get more done in a day. A consultant's report published in a 2012 "Medical Economics," which focuses on small practices, found that just instituting EHRs increased RVUs per physician by almost 5 percent. A study published in a November 2013 "American Journal of Managed Care" found ways to increase productivity further in physician practices: Practices that delegated 37 percent rather than 16 percent of EHR tasks to support staff had 11 percent higher productivity overall; those that logged half again as many data points in EHRs as the average practice added 5 percent to clinicians' productivity.

The Learning Curve

In all, just using EHRs more effectively added 2.8 RVUs to the per-doctor average of 17.5 RVUs a day -- a difference of 16 percent. In 2012, again in "Medical Economics," a consultant recommended assessing productivity from EHR use simply by totting up patient visits per month compared to a year earlier. Similarly, you can taking a single month's billings and divide them by patient visits. Quarterly assessments probably will show an initial dip in productivity followed by weeks and months of improvement. Overhead also is likely to fall after EHRs are implemented, particularly from a reduction in medical-records staff.

Counterintuitive Results

Paths to higher productivity may seem counterproductive: To enter all of a patient's vital signs in an EHR, for instance, would seem to cut into productivity, but the authors of the study in AJMC say it helps. Then, too, seeking innovation and finding EHRs may seem to physicians like learning, as Dorothy did, that there's no place like home. There is a distinct lack of drama. Still, innovation is also incremental. The next steps forward may be making patient records cyber-secure on mobile devices and safely logging data sent wirelessly from new medical devices. Doubtless there are more innovations to come.

About the Author

Sarah Brumley has written extensively on business and health-industry topics since 1995. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Funk & Wagnall's yearbooks to "Medical Economics," a magazine for physicians. She holds a master's degree in finance from New York University.